One-shot and Challenges Collection
by TheFanfictionMaster
Summary: Hello everyone and welcome to the collection of my one-shots and challenges from the forum We Are The Night and Children of the Forest! Most of these are challenges done by the forum, so enjoy!
1. Only a Dream

**A/N Hello and welcome to my second WATN Writing Challenge. This challenge was to t** **ake** **your favorite pair of lovebirds (from** **our forum) and write a cute little one-shot involving them. It can be a one-sided love or both can be in love with each other. Have fun!  
**

 **Warning, this is probably going to be a little short.**

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The snow white she-cat sat there in camp, head on her dainty black paws, watching the flame pelted tom as he went about watching the camp. As a camp guard, neither of them really had much to do; so they occasionally got to talk. Most of the time she felt like she was a blabbering idiot when she spoke to the tom, when she did build up the guts to talk to him.

She sighed and rolled over onto her back, looking up at the sky. Ivysnow exhaled deeply as she closed her eyes, drifting into her thoughts. Before she knew it, a paw was prodding her shoulder. Her bright green eyes flickered open and she looked at the flame pelted tom in front of her. "O-oh, hey Russetnose," she said, quickly getting to her paws and shaking her pelt off. He looked at her with a cool gaze and nodded his head to the outside of camp. "Meet me by the honeysuckle bush tonight, make sure no one follows you," he said quietly before padding off. Confused, but excited, she skipped to her nest and curled up. Time seemed to fly and before she knew it, it was night.

As instructed, she followed Russetnose's directions and met him by the honeysuckle bush. Her curiosity and confusion grew as he looked around to make sure no one followed her. "What is this about?" she asked. He smiled at her faintly and moved some bushes out of the way, revealing a hole. "Just follow me," he said kindly and slipped through the hole. Her heart fluttered and she did, moving the bushes behind her so no one could follow through the hole.

Having never been out of camp, Ivysnow widened her eyes in disbelief and awe. Russetnose smiled at her. "Do you like it out here?" Ivysnow looked at him with shock. "Like it...I love it out here!" she said, but was careful enough to keep her voice relatively low so the camp wouldn't hear her. The white she-cat was surprised when she heard Russetnose purr lightly. "Well, if you like that, follow me!" he said, bounding off onto the plains of their territory. She quickly followed him, her heart soaring from the experience of being outside the camp for once.

He stopped once he got to a grassy meadow and he looked up towards the sunrise. She stopped next to him and filled with dread. "Should we get back soon? It's almost morning," she said in a worried voice. He shook his head and nudges her with his nose. "Just relax for a minute, watch the sunrise," he said coolly. She turned her head to look at it, and widened her eyes in awe once more. Beautiful splashes of orange, red, and yellow painted the morning sky. "Wow..." she said breathlessly.

He nodded slowly, then turned to her. She looked back at him, her green eyes shinning brilliantly in the light of the sunrise. He leaned forward slowly and pressed his muzzle into Ivysnow's shoulder. Her heart thumped rapidly and her breath hitched in her throat. "R-russetnose," she said nervously. He murmured something and looked up at her.

"Ivysnow, I...I didn't realize it before...I was blind all those moons..." he started. She was frozen in surprise and could only gaze at the tom. "Ivysnow I've never felt this way for someone before...I think I love you," he confessed. She widened her eyes and buried her muzzle into his fur. "Russetnose, I-I love you too," she said, hardly believing this was actually happening. They both purred deeply, picking their heads up and putting their foreheads to each other. He looked into her eyes, smiling.

"Ivysnow..."

 _"Ivysnow..."_

"Ivysnow!" she jumped up slightly as she heard her name being called. She looked up at Russetnose and quickly got to her paws. "Y-yeah?" she asked, chuckling nervously. Russetnose gave her a confused look, but ended up shrugging it off. "It's your turn to watch the camp entrance," he said. "Ok, got it!" she chuckled nervously. He gave her one last look before padding away, to which she let out a sigh of relief and watched him leave. _Will my dream ever come true?_

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 **A/N Well, sorry that seemed rushed. Hope you liked the little fluff in there, sorry if it's bad, I'm not really used to writing...happy things hehe. If Russetnose seemed off, that was just because her whole interaction with him from "drifting into her thoughts" to _"Ivysnow..."_ was a dream. Russetnose belongs to IWalkBlindlyIntoTheShadows and I own Ivysnow.  
**

 **~TFM**


	2. Going Home

**A/N Hello and welcome to my second third writing challenge. If you've noticed I changed the title because I do other challenges on another forum too so, they're all just going to go here. Enjoy!**

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In the deep time of night, a small black she-kit with white-tipped ears sat curled up with another small and black ball of fur. The she-kit blinked open her lightning yellow eyes and blinked them slowly for a couple seconds. _Another sleepless night?_ the young black cat thought. She glanced over at her brother, the other small black lump, and purred lightly. Suddenly realizing it was the dead of night, she stopped; careful not to wake him. The cat got up slowly and padded silently out of the blanketed basket that both cats were sleeping in.

She hopped up onto the open windowsill and gazed out into the forest that lied before her. Not being able to sleep, and not wanting to wake her brother, she drifted off into thoughts and closed her eyes.

 _"Mother!" the all black tom-kit squealed as he was picked up by a big Up-Walker. The Up-Walker placed him in a covered basket, but they didn't block out the constant high-pitched mewling and squeaking coming from his muzzle. The she-kit turned to her mother in terror and nudged her with her head. "Why aren't you doing anything mother?! They're taking Charcoal!" she desperately mewed. The mother looked down at her with an undescribably emotion in her eyes and licked the top of her head softly. "Oh Lilac...I won't be around forever, I can't protect you forever. You have to promise me to protect your brother, okay?" she said quickly. Lilac was confused but complied anyway. Before she could answer, the same Up-Walker picked her up and put her in the basket with her brother._

Lilac's eyes fluttered open again and she took in a quick gasping breath. That had happened awhile ago, and she had been keeping her promise. Her eyes flickered over to a tree in the forest as a few leaves fell from it. Lilac's curiosity rose as she squinted, trying to see what had moved. After not seeing it move again, she sighed, and looked for a way out of the house. She spotted a rip in the weird patterned wire between the window and the outside and decided that would be a good way to get out. Lilac took her sharp claws and carefully cut more at the rip in the screen. A few minutes later, she just small enough to slip out.

Before jumping down onto the ground, Lilac glanced back at the basket with the sleeping figure of her brother. _I'll be back soon,_ she promised. Swallowing her small amount of fear of going out into the night, she leaped off onto the ground and set off into the forest. The trees looked gigantic; towering over everything else. The black she-kit looked around for the branch of the tree that had moved, but from here they all looked the same. She had lost the exact spot when she was going through the window.

After it seemed like she had been looking forever, she wasn't motivated by curiosity anymore to look for what had moved and instead wanted to get back to her brother. The various noises in the forest had started to amp up her fear exponentially. That was only made worst by the bad realization that she didn't know the way back. Every path through looked the same and an overwhelming feeling of disappointment had washed over her. She had set off on a foolish reason only to get lost and leave her brother alone.

 _I'm lost...I might never get back...I broke my promise.._ she started thinking, slinking lower to the ground. Lilac's thoughts were wiped away when a sudden crack rang out through the forest. She stiffened up and looked around wildly, trying to find the source of the sound. Her gaze stopped on a shadowy figure that started to pad out of the forest. It's sharp amber eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. Lilac took a frightened step back and gazed at the figure with wide, and scared, eyes.

"What are you doing here?" the figure said. Once it padded into the moonlight is was revealed to be a dark brown tabby cat. "I-I'm lost," she stuttered. "Lost? From where?" he asked in a deep voice. "My..my home..." she simply said. She stiffened more as he padded closer, but to her surprise all he did was give her a small sniff. "Twolegplace? Figures...I'll lead you back-"

"Oh thank you!" she exclaimed, relaxing under the hard stare of the tom. "-But you must never come back here." She tilted her head in confusion. "...why?" Lilac asked. "Well, it's very dangerous out here; especially for a kit." he tried to explain. That sentence brought a sudden thought into her head. "If I can't be safe in a forest...how can I protect my brother and keep mother's promise..?" she muttered to herself. The forest was quiet though, and the tom had heard. "Look, kit-"

"Lilac."

"Huh?" he said. "Lilac. My name is Lilac." she said again, more firmly this time. "Oh, well Lilac, I'm sure you are strong enough to protect your brother; you did come all the way out here right? It's just I don't want anything to happen to you. How do you think I would feel if I let you continue along and you never got back, or worse." the black kit nodded, starting to understand what he was saying.

"Yeah I see...well, thank you, I'll be sure to tell Charcoal all about you!" she purred happily. "Charcoal? Is he your brother?"

"Yep!"

"I'm Branch, now let's get you back." What seemed like a long time to Lilac passed as Branch sniffed, walked, and sniffed again through the forest. Finally they made it to the edge of the forest and Lilac's house was in sight. She thanked Branch, and he said it was his pleasure. The tiny kit had grown onto him and he had to admit it was a little sad to see her leave, but she would be happy with her brother now. He padded off into the forest and she looked back at her house.

Lilac was almost to her house when she heard a screech ring through the air. She looked up into the sky with a confused look, but didn't see anything. She looked back at the forest and then saw it; and it brought back that overwhelming sense of fear. What she saw were two bright, yellow eyes, staring down at her. The intensity of the animal's gaze terrified her. Her paws were planted to the ground in shock and no matter how much she willed they didn't seem to move.

The call rang out once more, before the owl swooped down, caught Lilac in it's talons, and soared away; the only evidence being a few drops of blood and a yowling cat. As she was carried off into the sky, Lilac stared down at the ground as it got farther and farther away. She would never grow up. She would never see Branch again. She would never be able to protect her brother. She would never go home.

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 **A/N Was it good? Bad? I'm a little rusty from not writing for awhile so I apologize if it was bad.**

 **~TFM**


	3. Falling Petals

**A/N Hey guys, this is a little one-shot I've been planning for awhile and just so happened to finish today during school, hope you enjoy!**

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The sun was setting on the horizon and brilliant red and orange lights shined through the trees onto a small dirt-covered clearing in the middle of a forest. Three cats stood, two beside each other and the other one standing in front of them. The two cats side by side was a brown tabby tom with black tabby stripes and amber eyes and a light brown tabby tom with black ears and blue eyes; the cat that stood in front of them was a rose-cream tabby tom with brilliant amber eyes.

The light brown tabby tom roughly shoved the rose-cream tabby tom onto the ground. Dirt rolled up at his body bashed onto the he was learning to be a patrol guard, the rose-cream tabby tom was a bit younger and smaller than the two cats who was confronting him. "Ha! Little lost kitty won't even fight back!" the light brown tabby tom yowled other tom's eyes were hard but he shifted uncomfortably and didn't say anything.

"Come on Rosepaw, get up!" he yowled again, putting his muzzle in Rosepaw's face. The dirt covered tom growled and tried to leap forward; though he was opponent was able to rear his head back quickly, but not quickly enough to avoid a small cut across the nose. He growled and slashed his claws at the angered Rosepaw. Rosepaw let out a small yowl but stifled it quickly. "Come on Sparrowpaw, I think he's had enough" the other tom said in a worried voice.

"Really Boarpaw? He? I think he is more of a _she_ ," he laughed, then stopped and scoffed. "Never mind, we don't need another Nightpaw in the clan." At that comment, Rosepaw growled and rose to his paws, sending a deadly glare at Sparrowpaw. "Shut your rothearted muzzle! Nightpaw may be different, but he's a better cat than you'll ever be," The rose-cream tom spat, wincing and trudging away from a shocked Sparrowpaw with a blood trail dripping from his shoulder. From the distance, Rosepaw could hear Sparrowpaw shouting; probably complaining to Boarpaw.

He winced again and eventually made it into camp. "Rosepaw! What happened?" He looked around and saw his two best friends padding toward him, both sharing a look of worry. "Oh nothing...just...I fell down a hill while I was taking a walk and rolled into some brambles, I guess one of them cut me," he lied. That's all it seemed he was doing lately. Lying to cover up his wounds, lying to cover up the doubt and sadness floating in his thoughts, lying to his friends because he cared.

He didn't want them to share his problems. "You should go to the herb den, then," Dawnpaw said. The rose-cream tom nodded and proceeded there. Once inside he lied down in a den and explained the same lie to Brightsong, the herb cat. His thoughts festered as the herb cat silently worked on patching him up again. "You've been here a lot lately," she said. He nodded, broken from his thoughts. "Yeah I guess I'm just getting clumsy." He tried to fake a laugh, but it was obviously forced.

She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment. "Mm, must be," she replied. After that Brightsong left to go take care of other things. Once she left Rosepaw's thoughts continued. He glanced at the cobwebs plastering his shoulder and sighed. This would just add to the various small cuts and scars that were hidden beneath his pelt. _"Why does this all have to happen to me?"_ he thought. _"Oh right...because of my parents.."_ he remembered and his memory drifted back to the day that ruined his life.

 _"Rosekit!" He heard his name being called. The three old tom scurried over to his parents, Creamfur and Darkpelt. Rosekit almost copied his mother's look and that just furthered his parents intention to name him Rosekit. He got teased by another kit frequently for his she-cat like name, but his friends- Nightkit and Dawnkit -told him not to fret over it. "Why don't you go play with Dawnkit and Nightkit for awhile?" His mother said as she licked the top of his head. "Oh, ok!" The kit happily squeaked and ran off. Later that day Rosekit returned to the main clearing in camp with his two friends and looked around with a very confused gaze. Cats were running around, some were huddled together, and once they all spotted Rosekit, pity filled their eyes._

 _"What?" He asked, confused and uncomfortable from everyone looking at him. A white apprentice, Fallenpaw, padded up to him with a soft look in her eyes. "Rosekit...your parents are gone." This news didn't click right away with the small tom-kit. "What do you mean? Are they out hunting?" He asked. Fallenpaw shook her head. "No...they've left, and they're not coming back." Upon this realization, Rosekit let out a pained, high pitched yowl and ran up to Fallenpaw; shoving his muzzle into her chest and loudly wailing in grief._

 _"How could they leave me here? I don't have any more family! I'll be alone...alone..." his mind raced. In the midst of his thoughts he felt two figures press up against him and turned to see Nightkit and Dawnkit softly comforting him. He smiled weakly and out his head back against Fallenpaw's fur. "No...I have friends...they'll always stay with me." he thought.  
_

He sighed at the remembrance of the memory. To this day the tom did not know why his parents up and left that day, all he knew was that he wanted answers. Even though she was just an apprentice, Rosekit wouldn't let else care for him besides Fallenpaw. He learned that she didn't have much family that was still around either so she was more than glad to care for him.

He was always grateful that she managed to juggle her training and taking care of a kit at the same time. During their time together he also learned a few things about her: she was very nice but was capable of being angry- as Rosepaw had the mistake of doing once or twice -she was great at guilt-tripping, and was one of the most protective cats he had ever seen. She didn't even know about Rosepaw's almost daily abuse from Sparrowpaw; if she did he would surely not look as good as he does now.

As the sun completely set, Rosepaw had padded to his nest and was almost asleep, Nightpaw and Dawnpaw at his side. As he looked between them he knew, they would always be there for him; even if they didn't know.

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 **A/N How did you all like it? Rosepaw, Fallenpaw, Boarpaw, and Sparrowpaw (now Rosefrost, Fallensky, Boarshade, Sparrowfeather) are my cats while Nightpaw (Nightsong) belongs to IWalkBlindlyIntoTheShadows, Dawnpaw (Dawnbreeze) belongs to Amberstorm233, and Brightsong belongs to Silver Tabby of the Storm.**


	4. To the End of Time

The dawn was breaking in the TranquilClan camp, but the cold nip of the air still seemed tangible in the soft breeze. It was early newleaf and the sun still remained behind the rising hills that surrounded the clan's camp. Only the amber glow of the sun's rays were able to be seen. Many of the clan cats were asleep, until a cat barreled into the leader's den. "Alligatorstar, come quick!" a white tom with black and grey speckles said sharply.

The leader, Alligatorstar, grumbled as she rose up from her nest. "What is it Flintblaze, it's quite early for commotion..." she yawned and stretched. Flintblaze paced around, flicking his tail for her to follow. "Please, father wants us, it's urgent." Suddenly Alligatorstar's eyes hardened and she nodded briskly. "Lead the way," she instructed, and her son was quick to scale down the massive tree that held the leader's den at the top.

They were quick-footed but silent as they slunk around camp until they finally arrived at the elder's den. Three more cats surrounded a nest, but soon made way for the leader and deputy. "What's happening?" Alligatorstar asked as she looked over to the other three cats. A soft chuckle was heard from the cat inside the nest and he looked at her with loving eyes.

"Oh Alligatorstar, calm down, it's nothing to make such a fuss about." Another cat, a white cat with a gray nose, hissed. "Nothing to make such a fuss about? You said you think your time is up!" Alligatorstar's eyes widened and she turned to her mate. "Thistlehaze...please tell me it's not true.." she breathed desperately. He looked down at the ground, let out a weak sigh, and looked back up at her with a reassured gaze.

"Yes, I believe it is my time to die," he said confidently. Flintblaze and his sister, Mothsplash, scooted closer together, feeling deeply saddened by their father's words. Another cat, a brown tabby she-cat named Duskfire, looked as if her world was evaporating right in front of her. The white she-cat with a gray nose, Dewcloud, looked angered and hurt at the same time. The last cat, Alligatorstar, looked utterly stunned and horrified.

"W-what? No...no that's not true!" she cried out. Thistlehaze smiled softly and nuzzled her with his muzzle. After a moment he looked to everyone else surrounding him. "Please...I just-" he was cut off by a sudden cough, to which Alligatorstar looked quickly at the white she-cat and barked out an order. "Dewcloud, go get some herbs for him!" Dewcloud began to leave, but was stopped by Thistlehaze.

"No! I do not need herbs wasted on me, just let me finish what I was saying." The others glanced at each other and eventually back at him. "I just want to lend you, all of you, a final word of advice," he stopped to ensure that they were listening.

"I want you to know that I'll always be here, no matter if in body or spirit. Learn that death is not always a bad thing, and that everyone has a time. I can feel that this just happens to be mine. When I'm gone, do not dwell on the grief that you feel, for I will always be with you in your memories, hearts, and eventually spirits when it is your time," he took a short break to cough, which turned into a chuckle-like sound. "Which I hope isn't soon for any of you..now that that is said...I hope you all know that I love you."

Thistlehaze turned to Alligatorstar. "Whether you be my mate..." then to Flintblaze, Mothsplash, and Duskfire, "Or kits," and finally to Dewcloud, "Or my apprentice and one of my best friends...I love you all." He gave them a sad smile and some of them returned it, some of them had to look away in anguish. In time, they started to approach him.

First was Flintblaze and Mothsplash. They looked sad, but were trying to hide it behind a smile. "We love you father...and we wish Duckpaw could be with us now." Thistlehaze smiled and waved his paw. "Oh I'll be seeing Duckpaw, don't you worry, and I know you'll both live great lives." He turned to Flintblaze and nudged him comfortingly with his head. "And you'll be a great leader, just like your mother, I know it."

They exchanged goodbyes and stepped back. The next was Duskfire to step up. "Thistlehaze...you were like a father to me, especially when mine..." her face contorted in disgust as she thought of Hawkshadow, her biological father. The dying tom saw this and his face softened. "I'm honored that you thought of me as a father, even if I wasn't your real one." She nodded and gave him a quick lick on the cheek. He purred and she backed away.

 _"Even he had a reason for what he did, and in some ways I can't blame him...we've all had hard lives,"_ Thistlehaze thought momentarily about the dark brown tabby tom that had had a significant part in his life. The second to lastcat to pad up to him was Dewcloud. He could still sense that she was tense and angry at him, but he knew it stemmed from her care for him.

"Dewcloud...I'm sorry that your feelings couldn't be reciprocated...but you were truly the best apprentice I could have asked for, and I thank you for putting up with me," he smiled. She frowned but it soon faded away when her face scrunched up while trying to hold back a wail of sadness.

"Thistlehaze...you know I love you, but you were also my best friend, and...and I still care, I want you to know I still care about you even as a friend." He nodded in understanding and she touched her forehead to his. A few small whimpers slipped through her will as she did so.

Backing up, she let his mate greet him. Last but not least, Alligatorstar approached her dying mate. She tried hard to keep her composure, but he could always see past her. "In all honesty...it pains me to finally have to face this," he said as she sat down in front of him. She nodded slowly.

"Me too...I just..." she laughed softly, pain clear in her voice. "I can remember when you were a little kit and...when you fell and I helped you...Thistlehaze you need to know that even though it wasn't too long ago that we became mates, you were always in my heart, even if I didn't realize it." At that moment, his mask cracked for a second and his raw emotion showed. She leaned down into his shoulder and wailed. He closed his eyes and lied down, feeling comfort from all of his surviving family and friends around him.

As he closed his eyes, a thought flashed through his mind. _"Smokeheart...Storm...Maplebreeze, Rootclaw, Duckpaw and everyone else...I'll finally be able to see you again."_ He let out a soft sigh of content, his mind was at peace. When he opened them, he found himself in an ethereal place. "Hello?" he called out. "Over here, young one," a familiar voice said.

He widened his eyes in shock. "Dawnwater! It's been forever!" he said, rushing over in happiness. He noticed that he could run properly, no longer having that small limp that he had for so long. Looking at himself, he looked younger and fitter all together. Dawnwater chuckled and nudged him playfully. "It's hard to believe I'm seeing you again after so long."

"Yes, well, everyone has a time," he responded. She chuckled and nodded. "It seems you've grown wiser, why don't we-" she stopped, which startled Thistlehaze. "What's wrong?" he asked. Dawnwater looked into the pool at their paws and focused. "Look into the pool, something is not right." He gazed into it and he, along with Dawnwater, seemed to be teleported down into TranquilClan.

They were there, but in spirit, not able to be seen or sensed by anyone else. What they saw was horrible. Alligatorstar didn't seem like herself, she was overcome with rage, slicing her claws along an apprentice. Shouts were heard, but Thistlehaze's attention was on his mate. Alligatorstar was tackled off by Duskfire and pinned down.

Blinded by rage, Alligatorstar slashed at her daughter, but was ended by a blow to the neck from Duskfire. She had been on her last life, and now she was completely out. He looked around and saw a dead apprentice near the one the leader had been attacking. The dead apprentice was being dragged away by Mothsplash while Flintblaze and Dewcloud hurried off to the medicine den with the injured one.

Though it was highly unlikely, he wished with everything that he had that Alligatorstar would show up, stars in her pelt, in Starclan. Alas, his hopes were effortless. Duskfire let out a caterwaul of grief and he saw Alligatorstar's spirit for a split second before it dissipated into the ground. Racked with grief, Thistlehaze raised up his head and wailed loudly.

Suddenly he was back in the starry woods of Starclan, and looked his gaze turned angered at Dawnwater. "Why! Why does this always happen to me! Why do I always have to make everything worst!" he yowled. Dawnwater's expression softened and she padded closer, trying to comfort him with her tail. "Thistlehaze...you may not know, but you don't always cause grief, you have caused happiness in many lives."

"Really? Name _one_ instance where I have helped!" She gazed at him hard for a second. "You were a medicine cat, you helped many times, but you won't listen to me right now...I need to show you for you to understand." Before he could respond, she touched her nose to his head and it pounded hard. Images, memories, flashed before his eyes.

 _"You certainly have a good litter, Maplebreeze, FrondClan is lucky to have them," Dawnwater said, pointing to three little kits scurrying around the nursery. Maplebreeze chuckled and looked towards her kits. "I just hope they grow up ok...with Rootclaw always out on patrols it's hard for me to care for them all by myself." The medicine cat smiled. "I'm sure they will all be fine, I can feel it." They both looked over to the kits, who were dangerously close to the entrance of the nursery._

 _"Thistlekit watch out!" Maplebreeze called to her little runt kit. He was white with a blonde underbelly, one blue and one green eye, and it had recently been discovered that he was deaf in one ear. He turned to hear her better and lost his balance, falling out of the nursery tree. He landed with a thump and a crack was heard. His family and Dawnwater rushed to get him, but a little apprentice got there first._

 _"Alligatorpaw, get him to my den, now!" Dawnwater instructed._

Thistlehaze's vision blurred as another memory flew into his head.

 _"I can train as a warrior apprentice, even with my paw!" Thistlekit said to Dawnwater. He had been in the medicine den for one moon now as his paw was healing. He broke it and it had been healing slowly, but steadily. Dawnwater had told him that he would have a limp in that front paw for the rest of his life. Now he was the age of a warrior apprentice, and desperately wanted to be one._

 _"Smokeki-paw is already an apprentice!" he declared, leaving out his sister who had ran away from the clan after their father had died and their mother mysteriously disappeared. "Yes, well, Smokepaw didn't fall off a tree like you did." The tiny kit grumbled and looked her hard in the eyes. "I will become a warrior apprentice, I promise you!" he said. She smiled, interested by the determination in the kit. "Okay then, I will tell Lilystar that you are fit enough to become an apprentice, but before I do I will give you one tip."_

 _He tilted his head in curiosity. "What?" She smiled and prodded his paw softly. "To make that stronger and the limp weaker, practice walking on it. Start with swimming in shallow water, it'll be easier to move it there, then start walking on dry land." Thistlekit widened his eyes and smiled widely. "Thanks Dawnwater, you're the best!" He said then scurried away._

 _A little bit later, he was indeed apprenticed to none other than the deputy, Alligatorsnap._

"Dawnwater...please..." Thistlehaze groaned, wanting the memories to stop.

 _"Come on Thistlepaw, I know you can do better than that!" a voice called out, dodging a sheathed attack from the heterochromic tom. He chuckled in return, "Oh I'm not so sure, with you mentoring me and all." For a moment, Alligatorsnap's focus was broken. "Hey!" she said, giving him time to leap in and pin her down. He purred and got off of her. "I'm just kidding, I owe all of what I know to you." His mentor got up and huffed, with a smile, "You're right about that."_

 _"I think we're done for now, you can go," she said. He started to pad away, but was stopped before he could go to far. "Wait! I almost forgot, I have some news." Thistlepaw turned back to her and tilted his head. "What news?" She then rolled her eyes. "Well if you were quiet I could tell you." He promptly shut his mouth._

 _"I think you're ready to be a warrior." His eyes widened and he jumped up in joy. "Really? Oh that's amazing!" he said cheerfully. Alligatorsnap smiled back, "Well you passed all of your assessments, so I think its time." He nudged her playfully, while feeling his pelt heat up, and purred. "Thank you Alligatorsnap, you're really the best mentor I could have had."_

 _"And you're the best apprentice I could have asked for, now go, I'm sure Dawnwater would be happy to hear about this!" His eyes lit up. "Dawnwater, yeah! See you later Alligatorsnap!" he called and sprinted back to camp. He padded back through the FrondClan territory and into camp, heading straight for the medicine den. Once inside, he called out, "Dawnwater!" As she was in there already, the medicine cat came out and smiled once she saw him._

 _"Thistlepaw! What brings you here?" She asked. He started smiling uncontrollably, "Well...Alligatorsnap said I'm ready to be a warrior!" Dawnwater's eyes widened. "Really? That's great! But..." her voice trailed off a bit. He stopped and gave her a confused look. "But what?" he asked, starting to feel a prick of worry._

 _"Well, Thistlepaw, I have noticed a lot about you in these past moons... mainly that you're a ripe candidate as a medicine cat apprentice." He was almost knocked back by the words. "M-medicine cat apprentice? But...but.."_

 _"Yes I know that you're training to be a warrior, and that being a medicine cat means giving up a lot of indulgements , but come on Thistlepaw, you can't tell me that you don't enjoy when you help me. For Starclan's sake you helped me when you were stuck in here as a kit and then continued to help me when I asked and even when I didn't after you became a warrior apprentice. I'm not forcing you, I'd just like you to think about it."_

 _He nodded slowly. He truly did enjoy helping her out, but he also thought back to one thing, Alligatorsnap. His heart ached when he thought about her, but Dawnwater was around the age that she should be training an apprentice, and he honestly did love helping her out._

 _"Okay, I'll do it," he finally said. Her eyes lit up in surprise. "Are you sure?" He looked at her, this time more confident, "Yes."_

"Please, I don't want to go through this again..." His memory was in a new place now, farther away, in a newly-founded TranquilClan.

 _Thistlehaze was sorting through herbs, trying to see what he had to stock up on. "Dewpaw, we need some more feverfew, would you go and get some?" Dewpaw enthusiastically jumped up. "Yes sir!" she giggled and bounded out of the medicine den and off into the woods to get some. He smiled and looked over at Duskpaw. "Are you alright Duskpaw?" he asked, hoping the death of her sister wasn't going too hard on her._

 _She shrugged. "I guess, it's nice being down here with you," she said. He was glad, as one of Alligatorstar's kits, he was always happy to be around her. Thinking of Alligatorstar still made his heart ache painfully. She had seemed to move on. She got a mate- Hawkshadow -and they had had multiple litters of kits. Luck was not on their side though, as only two of their kits are alive out of the seven they have had._

 _Hawkshadow was a loyal warrior to FrondClan and now TranquilClan, but like Thistlehaze's own father Rootclaw, he was always caught up in his warrior duties. As more and more of the kits started to die off, Hawkshadow seemed to separate himself further and further from his mate. Speaking of which, Alligatorstar padded down into the medicine den._

 _"Thistlehaze! I came to check on Duskpaw, is she doing ok?" The tom looked over at his old mentor and felt happy and sad at the same time. Like her kits, he was always happy to see her, but much of the life seemed to have drain out of her after these many moons. He could never have pictured her like this when he was an apprentice._

 _"Yes I think so, she-" he was suddenly caught off by Hawkshadow, who stormed into the den angrily. "Alligatorstar, I won't stand for this anymore!" he yelled, padding up to her. Thistlehaze frowned and glared at him, but backed up slightly. Alligatorstar looked confused and turned to her mate. "What do you mean?"_

 _"What do I mean? I mean you! I can't believe it's taken this long for me to see it, but now I do. It's your fault," He said, padding closer to her, to which she backed up. "My fault, for what?" she asked, confused. He growled. "For our kits, for their deaths, it's your fault. No matter what I try something always happens, I try to be a good father and it doesn't work, I isolate myself from them and that doesn't work. You're the only one constantly around them, so their death has to be linked to you!"_

 _He continued to shout, pushing her closer and closer towards the edge of a pool inside the medicine den. Hawkshadow's eyes suddenly darkened. "And I'm going to fix that, so none of our other kits die." Before she could answer, Hawkshadow slashed his claws across her throat and rammed her into the pool. She flailed and tried to get to the surface, but it was impossible with her life bleeding away._

 _"No!" Thistlehaze yowled, leaping at the tom. Duskpaw quickly moved around the tumbling toms and into the pool, swimming for her mother. Thistlehaze pinned Hawkshadow down and sunk his fangs into his shoulder. Hawkshadow growled loudly and tried to push Thistlehaze off. Losing his balance, the white tom retreated backwards but held his claws down while doing so, giving his opponent a nice gash down his chest._

 _Hawkshadow scuffled to his paws and struck out at Thistlehaze, slicing him across the side. Thistlehaze gritted his teeth, trying to keep strong and remember his warrior techniques he had learned so long ago._

 _Out of the blue, Alligatorstar- who was up and healthy now after losing her life and filled with adrenaline -flew into the fray. Thistlehaze and her seemed to be a tornado of teeth and claws, battling Hawkshadow like it was a dance. Their movements melted into one another, aligned yet not patterned. After a few short moments, Hawkshadow was incapacitated._

 _"What are we going to do now?" Thistlehaze asked, panting. "We exile him," She replied with a hard, yet clearly depressed, voice._

The pounding in his head became too much, to which Thistlehaze let out a pained yowl.

 _"I can't do this anymore!" an exasperated voice shouted, looking desperately at Alligatorstar. "Thistlehaze...are you sure you want to do this?" she asked. "Yes! A thousand times yes! Dewcloud is more than capable of being the medicine cat and I love you Alligatorstar, and I can't let my duties hold me back anymore. I don't want to break the code, so I'm certain in my decision to resign from my medicine cat position to be with you!"_

 _She smiled sadly, closer to him, burying her muzzle in his shoulder. "I love you too..."_

It was finally over, the images faded and the white tom looked at his mentor with hurt eyes. "Dawnwater...all you showed me.." She nodded. "Yes, it might have been suffering, but good always came out of it. You feel out of the tree and permanently injured yourself, but you met Alligatorstar. You chose to be my apprentice but in turn saved plenty of lives throughout the moons. You gave away Alligatorstar's love to Hawkshadow, but in the end you two still ended up together. You must understand no matter what has hurt you, good can always come out of it."

"But..." He began to say until he slammed her paw down. "No, no buts! If you doubt it just look back at the good you have done. You saved Dewcloud from greencough as a kit, you helped a pregnant loner when everyone else wanted to throw her out, you fought tooth and claw to protect Alligatorstar from Hawkshadow, and I shouldn't even have to mention all the lives you prolonged from the bloody battles we faced!"

He sighed and straightened himself up. "Okay, so I guess I don't always cause things to go wrong...but that still doesn't change the fact that Alligatorstar is in the Dark Forest and I'm in Starclan. I'm never going to be able to see her again..." Dawnwater looked at him like he had two heads, then started shaking her head.

"If that's the problem, then you just need to listen to your own advice. Sure you may never see her again with your eyes, but you always have your memories, she will always be with you, to the end of time."


	5. Flowers in September

A white rose. That was his flower, as stereotypical as it sounded, but he could only dream of changing it. The rose-cream tom snorted, of course his flower had to fit his name. He would have much rather had a nightshade, or a lily. Although, Star Watchers have never been on his side, so of course he was stuck with a rose. Every cat had a flower that called out to them soon after they received their full rank. It was told that each cat had their own experience when picking their flower, and the elders of the clan always had a fun time recalling the tale of when their flower bloomed.

When found, the flowers would still be closed; but when the soulmate of that cat first touched the flower, it would bloom to its fullest and most beautiful extent. Rosefrost's had not bloomed yet though, and he wasn't looking forward to when it did. Any cat could go around touching their flower to everyone in the clan, but that was considered bad luck. If it was meant to be, the perfect one would find their own way to their soulmate's flower. Rosefrost sighed, remembering the time he found his flower. He had fled camp after being chased out by Sparrowfeather once again, and this time was worse than usual.

He hissed in pain as small cuts and bruises throbbed under his pelt, but he was determined not to let the brown tom know how much he had hurt him. He found himself alone, wandering in a giant field of tall grass. The sun was setting, so he should have been heading back to camp soon, but he felt as if he needed to stay. The tom looked down, thinking about if he ever wanted to go back to camp. No, the answer, he shouted in his mind. Slowly, his paws began to shake and small tears dropped from his amber eyes. He let the feeling of defeat shower over him, as more and more tears fell.

Then an image flashed in his mind. Nightsong and Dawnbreeze, his two best friends, by his stupid had he been? Of course he would have to go back to camp, he couldn't leave them. He couldn't prove them all right by just fleeing like his parents. Determined, Rosefrost wiped the remaining tears away and got up. Oddly enough, below his paws, he found a single white rose that swayed softly in the wind. He widened his eyes, the sudden realization hitting him of what he had found. His fur spiked and a cold feeling rushed through his bones as he plucked the flower from the earth.

No one questioned him when he returned to camp with his flower, as it was not even something Sparrowfeather would make fun of. Flowers were amazing, beautiful, and sacred. Although to Rosefrost, all his flower was, was a giant burden. When they were alone, Rosefrost was congratulated softly by his most valuable friends. Fallensky, who he considered his mother more than his actual one, purred and told him that he would find the one sooner than later. Nightsong, his best friend in the whole world, seemed happy for him, but sad as he had not found his own flower yet. Lastly, Dawnbreeze, quietly listed off all the cats she thought might be his soulmate. While he didn't agree with her, he still smiled, as he enjoyed seeing his friend happy.

In the end, Rosefrost didn't see the point in having a flower, and he never wanted to see anyone touch his. Even if he did find his soulmate, he doubted they would want to stay with , the rose-cream tom hid his rose in a hole he dug under his nest. He knew the flower couldn't be damaged, because one never was. Cats who really didn't like their flower, or wanted to spite their soulmate for one reason or another, tried to cut their flower. Their claws would go through, and the flower would cut, but by morning it would grow back together. If a cat lost their flower, they would just find it again in another place. No one could escape this miracle, or what Rosefrost liked to refer to it as, this curse. Suddenly, a loud noise roused him from his thoughts.

"Look who it is, the three she-cats all sitting around," a taunting voice said. Looking over, Rosefrost narrowed his eyes into a glare at the light gray spotted tabby tom that stood before him. Seeing Nightsong shrink back out of the corner of his eye, the cream tom rose to his paws and growled softly. "Leave us alone Grassfeather, we're not bothering you." Grassfeather snorted and flicked his tail tip tauntingly. "And what are you going to do about it?" He said, glaring back at Rosefrost. Rosefrost growled lowly, slowly unsheathing his claws.

"Rosefrost..." Dawnbreeze spoke first, placing her tail on his shoulder. "It's not worth it," she said, looking at him with a soft gaze. He sighed softly, and relaxed a bit. "Yeah, we can all go somewhere else instead," Nightsong chimed in. Grassfeather smirked and prodded Rosefrost. "Yeah, listen to the _she-cat_ ," he said sharply. Rosefrost felt his blood boil. He hated when cats made fun of Nightsong for his choice, he was still an amazing cat no matter what he was. The cream tom leaped at Grassfeather, and pricked his claws into him. Grassfeather hissed, falling back. Being a patrol guard, Rosefrost had better fighting skills than his opponent, so he could have easily pinned down the other tom. However, Rosefrost wasn't keen on getting in trouble, so he let Grassfeather pin him instead. Grassfeather bared his fangs, trying to intimidate the other tom into surrendering. Out of nowhere, a loud call echoed through camp.

" _Grassfeather!_ " the voice said firmly. He looked up to spot their leader, Petalstar, with the deputy Thistlecloud behind her. He didn't look happy either, and Rosefrost guessed that he had alerted Petalstar of their little fight. Knowing he couldn't face off against the leader, Grassfeather stepped off of Rosefrost and lashed his tail. "He was asking for it!" he demanded. The cream tom hissed softly at the other tom, and Petalstar flicked her tail up. "You know we don't attack clanmates, and you two obviously need help working together, so as a punishment you will both be put on the same patrols for two moons. Grassfeather, you will be cleaning out the nursery for the next moon and Rosefrost you will clean out the elder's den."

Both toms looked at the leader with shock, but she didn't waver. With another flick of her tail, Petalstar departed back to her den with Thistlecloud following. Grassfeather hissed at Rosefrost, "You'll pay for this," and proceeded to the nursery with his tail still lashing. Rosefrost glared intensely at the tom as he padded away, and if looks could kill, Grassfeather would be a pile of blood and fur on the ground. He turned, shrugging off any advice his friends tried to give him, and silently proceeded to the elder's den.

xxx

"And then, when she stumbled over those rocks, she landed right at my paws! Her flower was clutched firmly in her jaw, and I felt something just...speak to me. So I reached out, and touched it with my paw," Dewstep, the elder, explained. Watching the small group of kits widen their eyes in interest, he continued. "It bloomed the most fascinating colors, but they could never come close to Riverflower's own beauty," he sighed softly. Rosefrost, who had been cleaning out the elder's den for almost a moon, rolled his eyes. Whenever asked about someone's soulmate flower, the usual cranky elder loved to retell the tale of how him and his mate, who had passed away a long time ago, became soulmates.

The cream tom heard the story so much he almost wanted to gag. He made a soft snorting sound, which drew Dewstep's attention. He frowned and flicked his tail irritably. "Star Watchers protect whoever becomes his soulmate," he said with disdain in his voice, and loud enough so Rosefrost could hear. He felt something jab at his chest, and anger quickly pumped through his veins. "I don't want a soulmate, so it doesn't matter," he snapped bitterly, and stomped out of the den. Rosefrost noticed it was nighttime, and as if on queue he let out a loud yawn.

Exhaustion starting to take over his actions, he trudged into the patrol guard's den. What he saw made his nerves jolt his body back into action. In the dim light, he could see Grassfeather digging up his nest. The light gray tabby, much like most of the other cats in the clan, he knew that Rosefrost hated the topic of soulmates and never wanted to find his, but Grassfeather was determined to use that to his advantage. "What are you doing?!" Rosefrost hissed quietly, making his way to the tom; but very slowly as he didn't want to wake up the other cats. Grassfeather had a snarky smirk on his features, and was relishing in the moment. "Today, we're going to find your mate," he said with a sly voice. He finally dug down to the white rose, and leaned down to grab it.

Rosefrost barreled forward, but stopped a few mouse-lengths from the tom as colors started to dance in his eyes. Rosefrost couldn't believe what he was seeing. In Grassfeather's jaw was his rose, but instead of being closed and pale as it was before, now the petals were fully opened and shining with color. Red, cream, light gray, and ice blue cascaded themselves on the petals as the two toms took in the sight. Rosefrost felt his heart stop for a second as he looked over into Grassfeather's yellow eyes, because they both knew what this meant. It was silent for a moment, as the colors slowly faded from the rose, returning it to its usual pale white form. Although this time, is was not shut anymore.

The den was eerily silent for a moment, before Grassfeather turned tail and ran like the wind out of camp, still clutching Rosefrost's flower. The cream tom quickly followed in pursuit, and didn't stop until the light gray tabby did, panting by a small stream as he tried to catch his breath. Grassfeather dropped the flower, but kept his paw on it. As if a switch had been flicked, Rosefrost gulped in confusion as he watched Grassfeather. His features seemed to be more...handsome, or at least they weren't hidden behind Rosefrost's anger for the tom anymore. "Me? Am I really your soulmate?!" Grassfeather cried out, disbelief in his voice. Rosefrost stammered, not sure how to deal with the new feelings that flooded his mind and body. From the looks of it, Grassfeather felt the same. He couldn't even look him in the eye and a light redness appeared on his ear tips.

"N-no! The flower, it must be wrong, it has to be!" Rosefrost replied, shaking his head. As if they were attached by a string, Rosefrost found his paws slowly inching toward Grassfeather, and the other tom didn't move. "You know the stories, the flowers are never wrong," Grassfeather spat softly. Rosefrost stopped, a couple inches away from Grassfeather now. "I...I don't know..but we can figure this out. We have to now, to fix it. Deal?" he proposed.

Grassfeather looked over at him, a very faint smile coated his muzzle. "...deal," he agreed. Rosefrost nodded, feeling a sort of happiness spark in his belly. He gently took his rose from Grassfeather's paw and stuck it in a nearby abandoned owl den that sat in a tree. "If we ever need it again, we know it will be here," the cream tom explained. After another moment of silence, the two went back to camp and split their separate ways into their respected dens. Rosefrost had trouble sleeping. The new feelings he now held made his paws tingle with excitement, but his mind was more than confused. How would he figure this out? Or was he really that tom's...soulmate?

xxx

"You can't catch me!" Grassfeather proclaimed, leaping through the grass in a nearby meadow. Rosefrost smirked, bunching up his haunches and racing after the tom. "Hey! You can't get away that easily!" He laughed, although he wasn't as fast as his new...friend. Grassfeather turned, a sly smile inching its way onto his face. He tackled Rosefrost and pinned him down. "Why would I want to be anywhere else but with you though?" he asked, smirking. Rosefrost felt his ears burn, but he couldn't be outdone by Grassfeather. He quickly flipped them over, so Rosefrost was pinning him down now.

"Well good thing you're mine then, because I'm not going to let you go," he said, smirking back. Grassfeather let out a soft purr, to which Rosefrost practically melted at. He got off of him and flopped down on his back, lying beside the tom instead. He purred back, and touched his forehead to Grassfeather's shoulder. They laid there for awhile, and Rosefrost's thoughts drifted.

It had been over a moon, and they had still not found anything that pointed to the flower being wrong. They tried asking the elder's, and medicine cats, and even some queens, but all were convinced that the flowers were always right. The two had started spending so much time together looking for an answer, that they had grown to like each other's company. They sometimes got weird looks or comments, as them not at each other's throat for once was a very rare sight. Dawnbreeze was happy they were getting along, and Nightsong was too. Although, whenever Rosefrost talked about Grassfeather, they got a certain...look on their face. Dawnbreeze would glance at her soulmate, Jayheart, and Nightsong would smile; but I could tell his smile held a small amount of sadness behind it.

After not finding anything for so long, Rosefrost eventually proposed that they tried to embrace the flower's choice, and see what happened. Rosefrost touched Grassfeather's flower after that, and yet again beautiful colors danced before their eyes. They hid his flower in the same abandoned owl den, and often visited to make sure they were safe. At first their journey to acceptance was hard, Grassfeather still made some bitter comments and Rosefrost would snap back at him, but those seemed to be a thing of the past.

Rosefrost snapped free from his thoughts as the wind started to rustle between his fur, and a new image displayed before his eyes. The sun started to go down and a mixture of yellow, orange, and red painted the sky. Rosefrost smiled happily, looking up at it. Grassfeather turned to him and nudged him softly. "The sunset is beautiful right?" He asked. Rosefrost nodded slowly, slightly confused. "Well," Grassfeather spoke, with a wide grin. "It isn't even close to how beautiful you are," he said softly, as if he only wanted Rosefrost to hear his words.

Rosefrost felt his fur turn to fire, and he pressed close to Grassfeather as his heart pounded in his chest. He looked up at the tom and opened his mouth, ready to speak those three little words that meant so much. Something stopped him though. He saw in Grassfeather's eyes the same look, the same feeling that he himself also felt. He smiled, and Rosefrost soon got lost in the yellow orbs that his lover had. Grassfeather found himself captivated by Rosefrost's amber jewels that he could look at all day. Rosefrost did not say those three words, because he had no need to. The other tom already knew.

xxx

"Hey Rosefrost, where's your other half?" Sparrowfeather chuckled slightly as he passed the tom. Rosefrost felt his fur prickle with unease, but he knew the brown tabby was trying to be better toward all of his clanmates. Rosefrost shrugged. "Probably out hunting," he said, and didn't let the worry seep through his voice. His lover had been gone for far too long, and didn't tell Rosefrost where he was going either. The cream tom turned to his two best friends and spoke quietly. "Can you two help me look for Grassfeather? I'm worried..." Without another word, Nightsong and Dawnbreeze agreed. They padded off to track the scent that Grassfeather left behind, and eventually they found him, but not in the same way he left.

Rosefrost felt his heart crack as he saw his would-be mate lying on the ground, panting harshly as blood cascaded down his body. In a flash, Rosefrost was at his side, and the other two quickly followed with equally horrified looks. "What happened?!" Rosefrost cried out, turning Grassfeather so he could face him. Another blow struck his heart. "You...always were...s-so loud," Grassfeather chuckled weakly, coughing up some blood. "T-this is no time for games! We have to get you to the herb cat den!" Rosefrost proclaimed, the worry in his tone very clearly seeping through his voice.

Grassfeather shook his head. "No...I'm not going to make it Rosefrost...but it'll be okay..." he said softly, his breath becoming more labored. "No, no! Not without you! I need you! I-I-" he started to protest, but Grassfeather put up a bloody paw to his muzzle to quiet him. He looked at him the same way he had in the meadow, and Rosefrost was stunned for a moment. Tears started to fall from his eyes, and he buried his head into his lover's neck and diluted the blood with his own tears. "I love you, I love you so much...please remember that...I won't ever forget you...and I'll always love you," Rosefrost desperately tried to tell him, his own voice cracking with pain and sadness.

Grassfeather didn't speak a word back, but the gentle smile that he held as his last breath was drawn told Rosefrost that the light gray tom knew. The cream tom felt Grassfeather's body go limp, and then his heart finally shattered. Beaten, and now broken, Rosefrost had no clue how to go on. Thankfully, he still had his friend, both of which had a comforting tail on his shoulder. They carried Grassfeather's body back to camp, and no one said a word to Rosefrost as the blood still stained his muzzle. Despite the odd look of it, no one questioned if Rosefrost murdered him or not.

They knew they were mates, as anyone in love could clearly see. Rosefrost quickly left, words of someone murdering him rang in his ears but his senses were too numb to recognize it. He washed the blood off of his muzzle, but now all he could see was his puffy, bloodshot amber eyes and their look of despair. His soulmate was dead, and he couldn't save him.

xxx

Grassfeather was buried the next day, and Ivysnow had been exiled from camp for being suspected of his murder. Rosefrost couldn't see her doing it, but his hatred blinded him. His hatred for all of those cats, despite a few. He couldn't save Grassfeather, but no one else did either. He sat at the foot of Grassfeather's grave, two flowers at his paws. One, was a beautiful white rose, and the other was a rotting crocus flower. It's purple petals had been decomposing ever since Grassfeather died, like anyone's soulmate flower did after they passed.

Rosefrost had once loved to look at the petals, but now they only brought him pain. He dug a small hole into the grave and put the crocus flower into it, so it would always be with the one it chose. He covered the hole and turned his attention to his own flower. He got a bitter taste in his mouth, and tears threatened him again. His flower had bloomed for someone he loathed. His flower had made him fall in love with a tom he never thought he could handle being around. His flower made him need this cat in his life. His flower bloomed for a tom destined to die, and he hated it.

He stomped a paw on the flower, crushing the petals for a moment, but they quickly returned to their full and natural state. As he watched his flower return to normal, a painful ache lurched in his chest. He set his flower on the grave, and slowly padded away. He felt broken, and dead inside. Sure he had his friends to keep him company, but would he ever love someone else like he loved Grassfeather? No, he couldn't.

He was his soulmate, the one born for him, and he was gone. His love was gone, and he was alone, forever. As the cream tom made his way back to camp with a dull glaze in his eyes, the white petals on his rose started to wilt. Some elders say the flower is a reflection of one's soul, and Rosefrost knew his soul was gone. It died with Grassfeather, and he wished he had died too.

* * *

 **A/N Well, it's been a long time since I've written one of these, but I think it went alright.**

 **This is a soulmate AU based on cats from the Warriors forum I roleplay on called We Are The Night, if you're interested in roleplay I suggest you check it out!**

 **Rosefrost, Sparrowfeather, Thistlecloud, Dewstep, Riverflower (mentioned), and Ivysnow (mentioned) belong to me. Grassfeather, Dawnbreeze, and Petalstar belong to Amberstorm233. Nightsong belongs to IWalkBlindlyIntoTheShadows.**


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